joesteph

Doing non- or semi-contact (or light contact . . .) on occasion enables someone to chance doing what s/he wouldn't do if it were full contact. Last night, I was sparring non-contact because that's the rule. If there's light contact, I don't say anything. I took a chance on a back kick, doing it according to the way I was taught, but the kid I was sparring with did a side kick and his foot tapped my hip. He said "Sorry" and I said "It's okay," then finished my back kick anyway. I should have done the hop back kick I'd been working on on my own to get that kick in faster. He only tapped me, but if it were non-contact, I don't think I'd even have realized I'd messed up my timing. If it were full contact, I'd never have tried either back kick. So I learned w/o injury that I can do the taught back kick in certain circumstances/situations, but not in the one presented to me, and nobody got hurt. Light contact, semi-contact, light-to-moderate contact . . . they all have their uses, even if they aren't full contact. But I do think it's a good idea to have safety equipment on, even if it's "light" or "semi" contact.

This is why I'd so much enjoyed when I did a two-man Tai Chi form with a friend in the past. We'd started off with the conventional solo forms, but the two-man was a special flow, and the applications jumped right out at us.

I found in the latest issue of Jissen magazine (Winter, Issue 4), an article on p. 16 titled "Getting to the Root of It All" by Eric Parsons. There are simple exercises referred to as well as text, and I was pleased to find on p. 20 a special reference to Tai Chi. From the article: [T]he slow nature of the movements in Tai Chi gives the practitioner the opportunity to focus intensely on proper body alignment, proper weight distribution, etc. . . . Moreover, any form can be practiced using the slow, fluid motions of Tai Chi . . . (emphasis in text) Jissen Issue 4 (and past issues) can be downloaded for free at: http://www.jissenmag.com/default.asp

Board breaking with the elbow was required for me to go to 7th Gup, and with the side kick to 6th Gup. (There are ten gup levels before 1st Dan.) I feel I could use practice at board-breaking; I have practically none as of now. It is an attraction for many different students. I did speak with my teacher, as I'd thought of a "board-breaking party," even suggesting that I'd be willing to pay for a number of boards (like throwing a karate bash). She wasn't opposed to it, but suggested that she'd remember this for a fundraiser for a cause down the road.

Issue 4 of Jissen magazine, published by Iain Abernethy and available online at no cost, has just been published. Go to: http://www.jissenmag.com/default.asp and you can choose the newest issue by clicking on the image of the cover in the upper right-hand corner, or you can download back issues by clicking the link at the top of the page. Issue 4's contents include "Martial Arts Scepticism: Philosophy and Ancient Wisdom," "The Myth of the Quick Kill," and a lot more.

So this isn't a reference to light contact with protective gear? It's one way to get adults who want non-contact for whatever reason to try it in their dojang, then, I guess, see how it goes if a tournament is held. I wonder if calling it semi-contact is a sales pitch for tournament promotion. With teens, it could be that they're enrolled in a non-contact school because of a parental decision, and it may be the only way to open up light contact to them. Half a loaf . . . ?

Class tonight with the boys - substitute instructors* tonight and David not as cooperative as Patrick, so a tougher session; I worked with David and one instructor, while other instructor worked with Patrick and a girl who joined in on the class - concentrated on Pyung Ahn Cho Dan (each boy performed three times with guidance during the class) - self-defense techniques - Patrick did extra, working with the girl who joined in, holding the kick shield for one another as they practiced different kicks *Instructors the boys know and like, but one thing out of the ordinary, and you can't tell when their special needs will kick in more strongly. Home Leg stretches Front swing kicks Kicking exercises lying on floor: - roundhouse and side kicks Self-defense techniques Forms: - Ki Cho Hyungs (Il, E, Sam Bu) - Pyung Ahn Cho Dan - Chil Sung E Ro Hyung - Pyung Ahn E Dan

It sounds like the power of suggestion has been playing havoc with your emotional well-being. No action by another who is not touching you (such as seizing your foot or pushing you) is affecting you physically. As I've interpreted what you've explained: "Adrenal power" sounds like another way of saying the power of adrenaline, a hormone for stength produced when in a flight-or-fight situation. No action by another transmits the biochemical reaction of adrenaline to another person's body (the "target"). These individuals know you are a highly sensitive person, open to suggestion, and are playing a cruel practical joke on you. The power of voodoo is not in the witch doctor but in the belief of the "cursed" person that the power/curse exists. Speak to your doctor about it, and see what s/he has to say. Don't be surprised if it's not the same as I've observed, sans a medical degree.

It's best to make the appointment with a specialist now, Truestar. Speaking as someone who's had injuries from weight-training, most specialists are people for whom you'll encounter a long wait before you get that first office visit. Your family doctor would most likely be able to recommend someone. In the meanwhile, you should continue with the heat treatment of the hot tub, since it seems to be doing some good. Good luck with this, Truestar.

Leg stretches Front swing kicks Kicking exercises lying on floor: - roundhouse and side kicks Forms: - Pyung Ahn Cho Dan - Chil Sung E Ro Hyung - Pyung Ahn E Dan

Soo Bahk Do, one year Present rank is orange belt with blue stripe (7th gup); if results of test taken are good, will be green belt (6th gup) Taking self-defense JuJitsu, five weeks In past was tutored in (contact) fighting by Isshinryu friend, took Tae Kwon Do classes (single promotion to yellow belt so could spar non-contact), and Tai Chi Chuan until Sifu became ill.

Leg stretches Front swing kicks Kicking exercises lying on floor: - roundhouse and side kicks BOB: - jab, cross, uppercut, hook punches - other hand strikes - finger, elbow, and forearm strikes

I see that your Tae Kwon Do follows the same stripes concept as Erin's Yamashita Shorin-Ryu, DWx. It's a smart idea.

A Black Belt magazine article made reference to a September 1971 article, "Liberate Yourself from Classical Karate" by Bruce Lee, p.24, claiming it was his most important one. I found it at: http://books.google.com/books?id=rtcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9&dq=Black+Belt&lr=&source=gbs_toc_pages&cad=0_1#PPA24,M1 Lee makes a number of observations, but the one that struck me in particular was his reference to how someone in the past would likely have been intuitive (and therefore to us experimental), breaking from what was established then and starting his own style. Those who follow him after his death take what the founder maintained as law, not to be changed (or questioned, like dogma). It's ironic in this observation by Lee, because the founder of a style may have done anything from borrow from different other styles to outright "break the laws" of his original one, and then became an unquestionable demi-god, which he never sought to be. It's a good article; an insight into Lee's own thoughts, and I applicable to this topic.

I was looking over the postings, Erin, and saw that in your art, Yamashita Shorin-Ryu, a stripe earned on the belt is the next color you're going for, so it's always changing and is a motivator. In my own art, Soo Bahk Do, the stripe is always the same color, blue, as the dan color is blue.

Home--before class Leg stretches Front swing kicks Kicking exercises lying on floor: - roundhouse and side kicks Class--self-defense JuJitsu; my Soo Bahk Do teacher took class with us today, as she reviews from time-to-time what she'd studied with Sensei in the past - front push-kicks against partner approaching with kick shield (wall right behind me to simulate real life) - blocks against hooks to head and ribs, then against straight punch to solar plexus (again, wall behind me) - block hook while striking face or chest, then maneuver for hip throw; as beginner student, allowed to lift opponent over hip/leg, but not throw over - redirect shove so can turn opponent, then drop down to do takedown to have him fall on his side; "climbed" on hands and knees over his body up to chest, sat in squat position (not a sprawl) to give room to strike - redirect shove so can strike upper arm to shock elbow, then twist so that opponent's arm over my shoulder for pulldown elbow break

In the article, below the photos, it says that when the victim fell, he struck his head against railings, resulting in multiple head injuries, which took his life. The article does make clear, though, that if we strike or use a takedown, the guy on the receiving end may experience greater injury than we intended--from the fall. It's not only in the movies or on TV, where somebody hit his head on the rock that just happened to be there; someone can land on a cement sidewalk, etc. It doesn't even have to result in death to cause greater damage, like a fractured hip from the fall.

In Soo Bahk Do: White (winter) White with one blue stripe Orange (between winter and spring; added as a motivator in 1975) Orange with one blue stripe Green (spring) Green with one blue stripe Green with two blue stripes Red (summer) Red with one blue stripe Red with two blue stripes Midnight Blue (autumn) Midnight Blue with red stripe encircling middle of belt from fourth dan on up

Home--before class Leg stretches Front swing kicks Kicking exercises lying on floor: - roundhouse and side kicks Class - kicks against kick shield - sparring combos - demonstration of highest form according to belt - choice of form - free sparring* Spoke with my teacher after class to request Ki Cho callout practice when she can spare some special time for me next week. Home--after class - Pyung Ahn Cho Dan - Chil Sung E Ro Hyung - Pyung Ahn E Dan *I threw one punch and one kick, that's all, against my first sparring partner, doing nothing but blocks against his kicks (and the lesser number of punches he threw). I again threw only one punch against my second sparring partner, a quick teenager, who I asked to keep trying to punch me in the face (although he threw a few kicks). Purpose of both was to practice my blocking using the high guard position, not getting careless and dropping my guard because it's non-contact. Some leg blocks were by raising my leg, so I don't neglect that move.

Thursday, February 12: Leg stretches Front swing kicks Kicking exercises lying on floor: - roundhouse and side kicks

What's called "traditional" has always been with us, just as those who have experimented, or simply had a different perspective and formed their own martial arts, have been with us as well. The latter has us consider how widespread experimentation and different perspectives are. The unexpected in this, to me, has been MMA. I believe that the traditionals will always be with us, but they will reach (have already?) a capping off of adherents. There can also be a regression in numbers. Those martial arts that periodically assess and reassess, experiment with regularity and make periodic modifications, will thrive in the climate of our times. It's feasible that an art viewed as traditional might have a schism of those who do teach/study it in such a manner, considering themselves "orthodox" to the art, and those who search to make it more relative to combat, incorporating from other arts and giving birth to something new. It's possible to have a great number of new but lesser-followed martial arts, like a piece of wood that has cast off shavings and splinters, but the core of the wood is still there. These entities will likely be very much related, and each reflect a particular founder who had unique ideas. They would likely last only so long as the founder's lifetime, but may contribute quite beneficially to the greater whole. Perhaps we're simply living in, and understand that we're living in, transitional times.

Congratulations!

A fast-paced chain of strikes of power, speed, and precision is dynamic karate to me.

In the January 2004 issue of Black Belt Magazine, online at: http://books.google.com/books?id=ONsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9-IA3&dq=Black+Belt&lr=&source=gbs_toc_pages&cad=0_1#PPA7,M1 there's an article on p. 86 titled "The Punishing Leg: 3 Fast and Furious Kicking Techniques from Yamaki-Ryu Karate" by Mark Cheng. It seems that Yamaki believes that the front kick is the number one kick, and the article (with photos) goes into how, from a single chambered position, the kick can be delivered to the face, solar plexus, or knees, and all with power. (The roundhouse and side kicks are also included in the article.) I think that it's more a matter of flexibility than muscle to execute the front kick the way it's demonstrated, but to do it from the single chambered position shown, so that the opponent doesn't know where it's going until it's delivered, is a strong plus.

Class with the boys - Ki Cho callouts - backfist, punch, front kick against squeaky targets on WaveMaster - first two one-step sparring techniques, "arm" strapped on WaveMaster - after class, boys made up their own form as they went along dojang floor Before class, I did Pyung Ahn E Dan in dojang; at home after class, did Pyung Ahn Cho Dan with the boys Home Leg stretches Front swing kicks Kicking exercises lying on floor: - roundhouse and side kicks One-step sparring exercises; Self-defense techniques Forms: - Ki Cho Hyungs (Il, E, Sam Bu) - Pyung Ahn Cho Dan - Chil Sung E Ro Hyung - Pyung Ahn E Dan